JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Nothing says summer like a day by the pool.
Last summer, Jacksonville city pools were plagued with maintenance and staffing issues. Now, they are back open again this summer, which is a relief for families looking to cool off because nothing says summer like a splash.
“Splashing and shooting water guns," said Shelton Carmen-Owens Jr. while he spent a day at the Woodland Acres pool with his family.
Those are Carmen-Owens Jr.’s two favorite things to do at the pool. His parents are happy to let him splash and play with water guns all summer long.
“It’s just a wonderful place to come to to get out of the heat," said Carmen-Owens Jr.'s mom. "As long as they’re open, we’ll be here.”
The Carmen-Owens family intends to be regulars at the Woodland-Acres pool this summer – something they couldn’t do last year.
Woodland-Acres was one of 16 pools that shut down last summer due to maintenance and staffing issues.
“We spent close to a million dollars in pool renovations all around the city," said Jacksonville Parks, Recreation & Community Services Director Daryl Joseph. "Each neighborhood was impacted, as far as the pools we were able to improve.”
That million dollars came from Mayor Donna Deegan’s $25 million initiatives plan, along with $250,000 to recruit more lifeguards and pay them more.
“These pools are safe places for our youth to come during the summer," said Joseph. "It’s going to be a hot summer again, so we want to make sure we have places for our youth and families to come.”
The Carmen-Owens family noticed right away that having more lifeguards to rotate in meant fewer lifeguard breaks and more time in the water.
“Every once in a while, they would have a break and we would get out," said Shelton Carmen-Owens Sr. "It was like, once every two hours, but thus far, it hasn’t been like that, so it’s been good. It’s so hot, you definitely want to be in water as long as you can.”
So Carmen-Owens Jr. has more time to work on his splashing and water gun shooting.
“I did a cannonball when I first got in today," said Carmen-Owens Jr.
Twenty-six of Jacksonville’s city pools opened for the holiday weekend.
They’ll only be open on the weekends for the next few weeks, then starting June 8, they’ll open every day all summer long through the beginning of August.